PlayStation LifeStyle » JohnDraisey

EA Says Modern Warfare 2 Airport Scene “Went Too Far”

JohnDraisey — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 13:26:56 +0000

Infinity Ward caught the attention of the news media weeks before Modern Warfare 2 was scheduled to release, and it was not because footage from their upcoming blockbuster had leaked out. It was what the scene depicted that made people question whether wartime scenarios had finally been taken too far.

But more than anyone, individuals within the games industry have spoken up about the consequences of the Airport Scene in MW2. EA’s very own Matt Turner, the Producer of Army of Two: The 40th Day, had this to say regarding Infinity’s Ward decision to create that level.

“We wouldn’t have done it, we didn’t do it. For me personally I think the alarm bells went off in a big way on that one because it was out of context. When the footage got leaked thousands upon thousands of people saw it on a clip not knowing what it was.
I’m not saying they were overreacting but people were generating these pretty outlandish opinions even though they didn’t know what the scene meant in the grand scheme of the game.”

And we have to agree with Turner. The scene was important as a plot point within the story, compelling Russia to finally invade the U.S., but it also drew unnecessary negative attention to the industry as a whole. Still, there’s still room for refinement and experimentation by other developers in terms of shocking their audiences. Turner continued on about pushing the limits of storytelling and immersion, as well as the possible ramifications for doing so.

“I say maybe they pushed it too far but in a way that’s a good thing because the media of videogames is very young. We have to start pushing limits, making statements and seeing what kind of social and cultural relevance that we can have which hasn’t really been nailed yet.
I think [Infinity Ward] were pushing towards that direction and trying to make people experience something truly terrible. Whether they were successful or not I’ll leave up to the players to decide, but I liked the fact that they were trying something new that people haven’t done before. I think that’s really gutsy and my hat’s off to Infinity Ward for trying at least.”

[Source]

Bouncing Boobie Paradise Coming to PSP

JohnDraisey — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 10:36:23 +0000

With Itagaki now out of the picture, Tecmo and Team Ninja have finally been able to focus on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in equal measures, with two successful installments of Ninja Gaiden. Another famous franchise from the Japanese developer is also making the jump, but to a smaller, more portable PlayStation console.

The latest issue of Famitsu has revealed that Dead or Alive: Paradise is currently in development for the PSP. But don’t expect to be able to duke it out against bikini-clad girls just yet. This installment is more like the DOA Xtreme spin-off series, and will instead focus on mini-games showing off the women from this famous series.

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Square Enix Unveils Epic Shots from FFXIV

JohnDraisey — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 07:04:13 +0000

Square Enix has decided to unleash a little holiday present of their own with new screenshots from their upcoming PS3 game, Final Fantasy XIV. The surprise announcement at E3, which also confirmed that it will only be on PS3 and PC when it launches next year, took audiences by surprise.

Similar to FFXI, Square Enix is staying close to their fantasy roots with this title, and these impressive new screenshots should hold us over until we see additional gameplay footage. Check them out below, and let us know what you think!

[Source]

GT and YouTube Crash Head-On

JohnDraisey — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 23:30:35 +0000

Fans of Polyphony Digital’s incredibly realistic driving simulator, Gran Turismo, have enjoyed the ability to save replays of memorable race sessions for many years now, but lacked the ability to show off those replays to anyone other than friends with PlayStation consoles and a copy of the game. But all that is about to change with the greatest entry yet in the series, Gran Turismo 5.

Kazunori Yamauchi and his team showed off some new footage for GT5 at the Asia Game Show 2009 today, and one of the slides confirmed a rumor that, until now, had very little traction. GT5 owners will be able to record and upload their high-octane races straight to Youtube. The game is slated to release next March in Japan, and Summer 2010 for North America and Europe.

[Source]

Guerrilla Games Enlisting New Recruits

JohnDraisey — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:43:35 +0000

The team at Guerrilla Games shocked the world with their heart-pounding FPS masterpiece, Killzone 2, which was lauded for its innovative online gameplay and CG quality graphics. And if their recent job postings are any indication, they are looking to release their second PS3 title sooner rather than later.

These are the following positions that are now open, according to the newly redesigned Guerrilla Games website:

Senior Environment Artist:
Saving the environment is easy – just hit CTRL-S. Making the environment convincing and awe-inspiring at the same time is a far more interesting challenge.
Senior Level Designer:
Are you a gifted level designer ready to take it to the next, uh, level? For our upcoming project, we’re looking for a Senior Level Designer with a thorough understanding of the intricacies of level design.
Senior Producer:
Senior Producers are the Chuck Norrises of the game industry. They never take “no” for an answer, unless the question was “Any objections to my project schedule?” As a Senior Producer at Guerrilla, you will be responsible for ensuring that our upcoming game project runs as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
Senior Build Engineer:
Do you enjoy tending compu-taters on the build farm? As a Senior Build Engineer, you’ll collaborate with IT Support to maintain and support all facets of the build farm, including configuration, troubleshooting, software updates, and setting up new projects.
Senior Game Designer:
Guerrilla Games is looking to add a battle-hardened Senior Game Designer to its ranks for an upcoming project. If you’re recruited, you will play a pivotal role in formulating the game design and guarding the game’s vision.
Senior Game Coder:
Being a Senior Game Coder at Guerrilla is like being a little god: you’re responsible for laying the foundation for an entire game world.

Modern Warfare 2 an Offline Experience

JohnDraisey — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:02:14 +0000

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is going to be known as the most memorable videogame release this decade, not because its expensive Prestige Edition, which came equipped with night vision goggles, or the fact that seven million copies were sold on day one. It’s the fact that the online portion of the game is completely crippled.

Massive numbers of PS3 and Xbox 360 owners are reporting issues with online multiplayer, with almost every PS3 owner unable to play an online match. And on top of that, there are issues with trophies and achievements not unlocking properly. This was made evident when not one, but two PS3 patches were released within a 24 hour period. And according to Robert Bowling, yet another patch is coming out on Friday to address the server issues.

Robert Bowling stated that “The amount of players on MW2 PSN overwhelmed the PSN presence server which updates “what you’re doing” and is essential to parties,”, and that Infinity Ward is “adding more bandwidth servers to meet MP demand.” What’s surprising about this situation is that the high demand was not a big surprise. In fact, Infinity Ward and Activision have been touting just how popular Modern Warfare 2 would be since E3.

Infinity Ward’s suggestion to angry MW2 owners is to simply finish the single player campaign while they get their act together. But what they really need to do is figure out how to stop millions of MW2 owners from storming retailers with returned copies. The release of MW2 is the most memorable in recent memory, and particularly because it should have been successful. Seven million owners could have been enjoying the fantastically designed game on this Veterans Day holiday, but instead are being greeted with glitchy trophies/achievements, constant patching, and the inability to play online.

Their reputation as reliable game developers has taken a steep nosedive, and it will take many years for the public to trust the quality of IW’s products. Our only hope is that they work as fast as possible to remedy the current situation and allow us to finally enjoy what the Call of Duty series is famous for. Fast paced, addictive online action.

PS3 Review – Need for Speed: Shift

JohnDraisey — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:44:59 +0000

My black BMW M3 rips through the carnage of smoke, debris, and overturned vehicles, barely missing the barrier wall, all the while skidding through the tight turn in perfect drifting form. As I escape unharmed, my adrenaline dissipates and the satisfaction of seeing my score bar light up with hundreds of points makes the situation all the more classic. This is what racing should be like, and yet it comes from the most unlikely racing series of all time: Need for Speed.

While the Need for Speed franchise has morphed multiple times over the past 15 years, touching on everything from traditional arcade racing to mod culture, from hot pursuit situations to open world environments. But circuit racing is something that has typically been reserved for the Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport franchises as of late. This is why the approach employed by EA and series newcomer Slightly Mad Studios is so daring; it takes the franchise into a completely new direction. Gone are the open world settings of Pro Street and Underground, or even the fantasy settings of prior titles like Hot Pursuit 2. The focus of Shift is circuit racing, and the developers were savvy enough to make the game very accessible and easy to pick up, despite the more realistic approach.

The presentation quality of this game is absolutely spectacular. The menus are slick, the layout is stylish, and even the loading screens are exciting to sit through due to the incredible audio work going on. There’s really never a dull moment in this game, and that’s outside of the actual gameplay. The game is split up into separate tiers, which contain specific ranks of cars to purchase and racing challenges to choose from. The first tier acts as a great warm up, with low horsepower rides and races that only ask for the bare minimum of your racing skills (or lack thereof). But NFS: Shift quickly ratches up the speed, intensity, and difficulty level afterwards. And thankfully, the team had enough forsight to make the challenges fairly easy to complete, despite the steady increase in difficulty.

Every race has a core set of stars to earn, which depend on your placement within the race. For instance, earning 3rd place will score you one star, second place two stars, and first place three stars. And on top of that, the game throws secondary goals to complete within every race, which range from racking up a certain amount of points to spinning out opponents. The stars you earn are permanent, which means that races can be completed multiple times if you got all the secondary goals, but didn’t quite make first place. Or worse yet, got third place and scored absolutely no secondary goals. It’s a brilliant system that allows skilled drivers to quickly advance, but manages to not punish those who are still getting used to the game.

Heavy Rain features a Strip Tease…

JohnDraisey — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 01:05:28 +0000

David Cage and his crew over at Quantic Dream have made it clear that they want their groundbreaking PS3 exclusive, Heavy Rain, to be as cinematic as possible. On top of the realistic graphics, the characters of Heavy Rain are put into dire situations that completely plausible, including a particular scene where one main character, Madison, is forced to do a strip tease.

The footage below is completely uncensored, so watch at your own discretion. And let us know how much you liked it in the comment section below.

Uncharted 2 DLC May Make a Splash on LBP

JohnDraisey — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:16:00 +0000

LittleBigPlanet has played host to many popular games, including the likes of Final Fantasy VII and Metal Gear Solid. But the upcoming blockbuster from Naughty Dog, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, may be next in line for the cuddly, innovative platform title.

Over the PS Blog, a curious user by the name of Tower76 asked about the possibility of Uncharted 2 DLC in LBP, and got a surprising answer.

Tower76: “Cool vid, thanks for all the info. I have a somewhat off topic LBP question: Will we be seeing Uncharted themed characters and levels anytime soon??”
Mark Valledor: “Uncharted is a big upcoming launch so maybe…”

It’s exciting news, and we hope that it pans out to be true.

Special thanks to Lulz Lulzly for the tip!

SCEJ Opens the Doors for Tokyo Game Show Site

JohnDraisey — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:02:27 +0000

The most anticipated gaming convention next to GDC and E3, TGS is rumored to be making the largest splash this year. With just several months left before the holiday season, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are going to be pulling out all the stops to come out on top. And just in the nick of time, Sony has launched their official TGS website to coincide with the historical event.

But be forewarned, you need to be able to read Japanese to understand just exactly what’s on the page. Expect Sony’s big announcements to show up as they occur at their TGS website, as well as right here on PlayStation LifeStyle.

PSP Minis Left Barebones To Accelerate Approval

JohnDraisey — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 01:08:03 +0000

Sony made a big splash when they announced the impending release of PSP Minis, small applications and games that would put the PSP hardware in direct competition with Apple’s App Store for the iPhone. But little did we know just what kind of sacrifices PSP Minis developers would have to make in order to differentiate said Apps from normal PSP titles.

As it turns out, PSP Mini games will be barred from having wireless multiplayer functionality, downloadable content, or even software updates. The reason for this, as SCEA senior account manager Justin Cooney explains, is actually beneficial for the developer since it accelerates the approval process.

“When you look at it from a testing perspective, you have to do more QA. [Allowing those features] would defeat the purpose of having a dedicated service for smaller content. It increases the barriers.”

The QA process for PSP games is normally two to three weeks. The Minis however can be approved within three to five days, which is a serious advantage, especially for iPhone developers who are used to seeing their applications and games sit in QA for sometimes several months.

Cooney emphasizes that despite the fact that multiplayer, DLC support, and software updates are not allowed for PSP Minis, it’s up to the developer to brand their games as either Minis or full-fledged PSP titles.

For all your gaming updates, make sure to stick with PlayStation LifeStyle.

[Source]

Sony Blesses PS3 Dev Kits with Destructive Upgrade

JohnDraisey — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 17:39:34 +0000

At CEDEC 2009, Sony presented a major update with important implications for PS3 game developers, particularly because it upgrades something that we all know and love within our games, which is physics interactions. Without physics, the trees and foliage in Motorstorm: Pacific Rift wouldn’t react to our vehicles plowing through them, and the frightening Helghast troops in Killzone 2 wouldn’t react to individual bullet impacts.

In fact, games would still be pretty boring without strong physics interactions, which is what the PS3 excels at. But third party engines such as Euphoria and Havok aren’t always an option for developers due to licensing costs, and custom built physics engines can take years to develop, which is why the Physics SDK is so important. It empowers PS3 developers of any stature to quickly take advantage of the powerful hardware and give their target audience what they want within a shorter development cycle.

To see just what the Physics SDK is capable of, and how fast it completes its calculations in terms of milliseconds, check out the video below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Need for Speed: SHIFT Boasts Adrenaline-Pumping Soundtrack

JohnDraisey — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:35:42 +0000

Authentic Racing Experience Fueled By Kanye West, The Prodigy and More.

Electronic Arts Inc. today announced the track list that will propel players to the finish line in Need for Speed™ SHIFT when it hits retail stores in North America on September 15 (in stores across Europe on September 17, 2009). The SHIFT soundtrack features some of today’s most influential hip hop and rock artists including Kanye West, The Prodigy, Kasabian, and MSTRKRFT. Each song was hand selected to provide a pounding score that matches the intensity and bone-crushing power of this year’s Need for Speed.

The game has already received several positive reviews including one from Official Xbox Magazine which referred to Need for Speed SHIFT as a “brilliant turn in a new direction” and “deep and addictive.”

“Intense music has always fueled the sound of Need For Speed,” said Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music and Music Marketing at EA. “For SHIFT, we truly went underground to bring together some of the edgiest new tracks in electronic music, hip-hop and rock from around the world. These artists are the radical equivalents of real outlaw racing. The result is a white-knuckle soundtrack of pure global adrenaline.”

The complete soundtrack is listed below. To hear samplings of each song, please visit www.ea.com/eatrax/.

Artist Songs:

Buraka Som Sistema feat. Pongolove – Kalemba (Wegue-Wegue)
Chase And Status feat. Plan B – Pieces
Deadmau5 – Ghosts N Stuff
Eagles Of Death Metal – Anything ‘Cept the Truth
Fort Knox 5 feat. Asheru – Insight (The Nextmen Remix)
Gallows – I Dread The Night
In Case Of Fire – This Time We Stand
Jamal – Pull Up
Kanye West – Paranoid (Part 2)
Kasabian – Underdog
The King Blues – The Streets Are Ours
Mala Rodriguez – Te Convierto
Mando Diao – Mean Street
MSTRKRFT feat. E-40 – Click Click
N.A.S.A. – Whachadoin? Feat. Spank Rock, MIA, Santigold and Nick Zinner
The Prodigy – Run With The Wolves
The Qemists feat Mike Patton – Lost Weekend
Regular John – Transmitter
Rootbeer – Under Control
Shinichi Osawa – Electro 411 (Lies In Disguise Mix)
Spoon Harris & Obernik – Baditude
TOKIO – Dogonim
Twisted Wheel – Oh What Have You Done
Two Fingers feat. Sway – High Life

Need for Speed SHIFT is the first racing game that accurately reproduces the intense physical and emotional experience of being behind the wheel of a race car. SHIFT’s true driver’s experience redefines the racing genre with the combination of real world physics and perception based G-forces including the brutal first person crash dynamic, to create a cockpit view that is easily the most realistic and intensive racing perspective ever.

Need for Speed SHIFT is available for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, PC and PSP® system. More information can be found at www.needforspeed.com or follow us on Twitter at NeedforSpeed. Press can download assets at http://info.ea.com.

Japanese Cinema’s Dirty Little PS3 Secret

JohnDraisey — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:36:08 +0000

It’s not everyday a giggle-inducing scandal is uncovered, especially in Sony’s homeland of Japan. But attendees of viewing for Kara no Kyoukai over at a Sendai cinema did exactly that.

As it turns out, some Japanese movie theaters have completely transcended the use of film projectors in favor of PlayStation 3s. The audience that was watching Kara no Kyoukai was unexpectedly interrupted by the appearance of the PS3′s XMB, warning the projectionist to stop messing around and recharge their Sixaxis controller.

As word spread through 2ch-watching blogs, it turned out that a number of theaters actually rely on this method, and for one particular reason. The flicks were being played off the PS3 hard drives, not Blu-ray players. It’s hard to say then whether these movies were even obtained legally, but we suspect it was merely a cost-saving measure on the studios’ part. Even more surprising was that the quality was indistinguishable from typical film stock.

And who knows. Maybe American theaters will start doing the same. We just hope they keep their controllers plugged in while they’re at it.

[Source]

Adorable New LBP PSP Screenshots

JohnDraisey — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 04:02:21 +0000

The LBP craze continues this October with LittleBigPlanet for the PlayStation Portable, and is sure to be a big hit amongst PSP owners, especially since it will be available on PlayStation Network for download. The pint sized port will have a seizable amount of features and, as we found out at E3 2009, it plays almost exactly like its PS3 brother. Sony has released some new screenshots of Sackboy’s latest outing, showcasing the new levels and costumes.

Check them out below, and let us know what you think!